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Aaron
I've added three adventures to my Shadowrun Resources page. They're one-shots I wrote for Gen Con 2006, and since they're not being used this year, I figured they might be of some use to somebody.

bibliophile20
Ping Time isn't loading; I'm getting a 404 error.
Aaron
QUOTE (bibliophile20)
Ping Time isn't loading; I'm getting a 404 error.

That's because I'm dumb. It's fixed now.

Crusufix
Born to die looks really good.
Very good actually.

I think I'll run this before part 2 of the SR Missions.

I really like the horror feel for it... reminds me of the Haunted Hotel chapter in the video game Vampire: The Masquerade.
Aaron
Thank you.

Although one part I wrote before the rulings on manifesting were made, so part of it's a bit broken. I'll be fixing it Real Soon.

EDIT: And by "Real Soon," I apparently meant "this morning." It's fixed and up-to-date.
Dizzman
Aaron, born to die looks very good. I have a brand new group of runners (second game), and this would be perfect for them.

Thanks!!!!
Squinky
I'm gonna go ahead and run Born to Die after the second SRmission. Looks sweet. Thank you.
Aaron
Y'know, Squinky, your sig just reminded me of something my adventures have, which is whitespace, and something that they lack, and that's interior art.
Squinky
Heh, It's the least I could do. I plan on using all the adventures on your site smile.gif

I'll Pm you.
bibliophile20
Okay, I just looked over Last Run and Born to Die, very nice indeed.

I just have one question of sorts:
A) What's the program that you used to edit the pdfs from your site (i.e. the security forces and the NPC record sheet) or, B) if you don't use a program and you just edit it in the original file format (whatever that format may be) could you put up said original file format on your site as well? Just for the record sheets; my handwriting is terrible and being able to type up the info for my runs and print it out all nice and neat would be awesome.
Aaron
Oh, to get the forms? I used Corel to build the sheets, and to fill them in. I then copy and paste them into a Word or OpenOffice document, whichever I'm using to work on the adventures. If the stat blocks aren't embedded, I'll just print them to PDF and then stitch them together with Acrobat Pro.

I've got the grunt sheet and the NPC sheet on my site as blank forms. Or were you looking for the two-NPC version?
bibliophile20
QUOTE (Aaron @ Jun 19 2007, 02:53 PM)
Oh, to get the forms? I used Corel to build the sheets, and to fill them in. I then copy and paste them into a Word or OpenOffice document, whichever I'm using to work on the adventures. If the stat blocks aren't embedded, I'll just print them to PDF and then stitch them together with Acrobat Pro.

I've got the grunt sheet and the NPC sheet on my site as blank forms. Or were you looking for the two-NPC version?

What I was hoping for was a means of having the blank forms that I've already downloaded from your excellent website (as an aside, the cheat sheets? A lifesaver during cons) and being able to add in my own stats and then print them up, as opposed to having to print up the blank forms and then filling them in by hand.

So, looking at your stated process, would it be too much to ask to have the blank forms in either .doc or .odt format up on your site as well?
Crusufix
ANother quick question for Aaron as well.

I was looking at the 4up version of the cheat sheet.. and I'm confused as to how to get them to print 4up.

I'm assuming that it's on 3 pages, with 4 of the cheat sheet on each page.. .But right now the PDF file is 12 pages. 1 cheat sheet per page.

What's an easy method of getting it to print 4 up.. unless I'm completely missing the point?
Aaron
QUOTE (bibliophile20)
What I was hoping for was a means of having the blank forms that I've already downloaded from your excellent website (as an aside, the cheat sheets? A lifesaver during cons) and being able to add in my own stats and then print them up, as opposed to having to print up the blank forms and then filling them in by hand.

So, looking at your stated process, would it be too much to ask to have the blank forms in either .doc or .odt format up on your site as well?

Ah. Got it.

Acrobat claims to be able to make forms one can fill in. I've futzed around with it a bit, but it's been a low priority for me since nobody seemed to care. Now that somebody cares, I'll sit down and figure it out, and post fillable sheets.

Aaron
QUOTE (Crusufix)
ANother quick question for Aaron as well.

I was looking at the 4up version of the cheat sheet.. and I'm confused as to how to get them to print 4up.

I'm assuming that it's on 3 pages, with 4 of the cheat sheet on each page.. .But right now the PDF file is 12 pages. 1 cheat sheet per page.

What's an easy method of getting it to print 4 up.. unless I'm completely missing the point?

Acrobat gets cranky about my fonts when I try to build a PDF that's already 4-up. What you have to do is go into your printer settings when you print the file. There's a setting for four pages per sheet (usually under Page or Finishing or some such).


Crusufix
QUOTE (Aaron)
QUOTE (Crusufix @ Jun 19 2007, 05:31 PM)
ANother quick question for Aaron as well.

I was looking at the 4up version of the cheat sheet.. and I'm confused as to how to get them to print 4up.

I'm assuming that it's on 3 pages, with 4 of the cheat sheet on each page.. .But right now the PDF file is 12 pages. 1 cheat sheet per page.

What's an easy method of getting it to print 4 up.. unless I'm completely missing the point?

Acrobat gets cranky about my fonts when I try to build a PDF that's already 4-up. What you have to do is go into your printer settings when you print the file. There's a setting for four pages per sheet (usually under Page or Finishing or some such).

Aha! Yes.. there it is.. I can't believe I didn't think of that.

Thanks a lot for your help.
bibliophile20
QUOTE (Aaron @ Jun 19 2007, 08:35 PM)
Ah. Got it.

Acrobat claims to be able to make forms one can fill in. I've futzed around with it a bit, but it's been a low priority for me since nobody seemed to care. Now that somebody cares, I'll sit down and figure it out, and post fillable sheets.

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Crusufix
Sweet! I discovered booklet printing in there as well!

Now I have all the cheat sheets printed off in a little folded paper booklet style with staples in the middle holding it all together.. it's pretty sweet.

Easy access to all the cheat sheets right there as one little booklet.
kzt
QUOTE (Aaron)
Acrobat claims to be able to make forms one can fill in. I've futzed around with it a bit, but it's been a low priority for me since nobody seemed to care. Now that somebody cares, I'll sit down and figure it out, and post fillable sheets.

You can do printable fillable files. Savable fillable files require an extra-cost plug in. A several hundred thousand dollar plug-in. No, I'm not kidding.

Otherwise you need acrobat pro or some of the assorted knockoffs. Some of the knockoffs are pretty cheap and pretty darn good. There are also web services that will do this for you for like $25 bucks or if you know someone who works for the IRS. . .
bibliophile20
QUOTE (kzt)
QUOTE (Aaron)
Acrobat claims to be able to make forms one can fill in. I've futzed around with it a bit, but it's been a low priority for me since nobody seemed to care. Now that somebody cares, I'll sit down and figure it out, and post fillable sheets.

You can do printable fillable files. Savable fillable files require an extra-cost plug in. A several hundred thousand dollar plug-in. No, I'm not kidding.

Otherwise you need acrobat pro or some of the assorted knockoffs. Some of the knockoffs are pretty cheap and pretty darn good. There are also web services that will do this for you for like $25 bucks or if you know someone who works for the IRS. . .

eek.gif

Perhaps just the .doc files then?
Ravor
I just wanted to drop in and say that I liked the adventures Aaron and plan on running them with a few minor tweaks (Although I'll wait until after the characters get into trouble with a major player before taking them through Last Run so the session can end with the Runners losing their entire share in exchange for their lives. vegm.gif )
Aaron
Currently working on the form version. It'll take a bit; I've got to add every single bloody little entry thing manually.

Also, it's not a .doc file. It's a .cdr file.


Moon-Hawk
QUOTE (kzt)
QUOTE (Aaron)
Acrobat claims to be able to make forms one can fill in. I've futzed around with it a bit, but it's been a low priority for me since nobody seemed to care. Now that somebody cares, I'll sit down and figure it out, and post fillable sheets.

You can do printable fillable files. Savable fillable files require an extra-cost plug in. A several hundred thousand dollar plug-in. No, I'm not kidding.

Otherwise you need acrobat pro or some of the assorted knockoffs. Some of the knockoffs are pretty cheap and pretty darn good. There are also web services that will do this for you for like $25 bucks or if you know someone who works for the IRS. . .

I have acrobat pro at work. If I have a fillable document I can edit the permissions to make it a saveable fillable document, then re-save it, so then anyone can use it as a saveable fillable document.
It wouldn't be illegal for me to do that, would it? I can't see how. Provided I have the permission of the original fillable document author, of course.

I just don't know how to make a fillable document in the first place.
kzt
QUOTE (Moon-Hawk)
I have acrobat pro at work. If I have a fillable document I can edit the permissions to make it a saveable fillable document, then re-save it, so then anyone can use it as a saveable fillable document.
It wouldn't be illegal for me to do that, would it? I can't see how. Provided I have the permission of the original fillable document author, of course.

No, it wouldn't be illegal. But you need your company to have bought the Adobe LiveCycle Reader Extensions or be using acrobat pro version 8. The bit about pro version 8 being able to make fillable and savable forms was news to me.

I've tried to edit PDF forms using pro 7x and it's really pretty awful, because the actual internal format isn't a PDF, it's in some sort of intermediate format that gets converted to a PDF on saving. Without that intermediate file it has to be reconverted, which blows the formating up. I fond it was easier to use some third party tools that directly edited the PDF. Nitro IIRC.

There are services that will make forms saveable for you.
Moon-Hawk
I have version 8. I have successfully taken a fillable non-savable form (a shadowrun character sheet, in fact) and resaved it as a savable, fillable form, and then filled and saved it using only acrobat reader on another computer.
kzt
QUOTE (Moon-Hawk)
I have version 8. I have successfully taken a fillable non-savable form (a shadowrun character sheet, in fact) and resaved it as a savable, fillable form, and then filled and saved it using only acrobat reader on another computer.

Did it hold the formating and graphics without a lot of work?
Moon-Hawk
Haha. If it had taken any work I would not have been able to do it, I don't know anything about making documents in Acrobat. I'm just saying that I have access to the software, if it would help. PM me if you need an email address.
Aaron
The list of cheat sheets on my Shadowrun Resources page now includes a fillable NPC form. If you're looking to make nice-looking NPCs, knock yourselves out.
bibliophile20
QUOTE (Aaron)
The list of cheat sheets on my Shadowrun Resources page now includes a fillable NPC form. If you're looking to make nice-looking NPCs, knock yourselves out.

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ShadowDragon8685
QUOTE (Aaron)
The list of cheat sheets on my Shadowrun Resources page now includes a fillable NPC form. If you're looking to make nice-looking NPCs, knock yourselves out.

Can these be saved in their filled form, too? I don't print anything out, since I play Shadowrun online, using OpenRPG, but saved documents would be helpful.
Aaron
QUOTE (ShadowDragon8685)
Can these be saved in their filled form, too? I don't print anything out, since I play Shadowrun online, using OpenRPG, but saved documents would be helpful.

Can you print to PDF?

Moon-Hawk
They aren't savable with standard acrobat reader, although I've already used Acrobat 8 Pro to make my copy savable using only the free reader (since I don't have Pro at home)
bibliophile20
I now have nice looking NPC sheets that actually work well, i.e. are not handwritten.

Aaron, you are a god amongst men.

...

Any chance we could get a fillable grunt record sheet as well?

*feels vaguely guilty for asking*
Aaron
QUOTE (bibliophile20)
I now have nice looking NPC sheets that actually work well, i.e. are not handwritten. 
Aaron, you are a god amongst men.

Thanks, it was my pleasure. Did you notice you can "X" out the unused boxes in the Condition Monitors and the Edge Pool?

QUOTE (bibliophile20)
Any chance we could get a fillable grunt record sheet as well? 

I'll put it on my TODO list, with the warning that I've got a fairly big project ahead of it.
bibliophile20
QUOTE
Thanks, it was my pleasure. Did you notice you can "X" out the unused boxes in the Condition Monitors and the Edge Pool?


Yup. I had a Cheshire cat grin when I saw all the nice work that you had put into the whole thing; that feature in particular was a nice touch.

QUOTE
I'll put it on my TODO list, with the warning that I've got a fairly big project ahead of it.


More than fair enough. May I ask what the "big project" is, or is that classified? ^_^


And does anyone here know how to either: A) print to pdf or B) save the NPC file after you've filled it out? It would make all of our (i.e. the GMs) lives easier, and besides, with a standard format, it makes sharing NPCs that much easier.
Aaron
QUOTE (bibliophile20)
More than fair enough.  May I ask what the "big project" is, or is that classified?  ^_^

It's not classified per se, but I don't think it would be professional to talk about it on DS. Also, if you do end up reading it, I prefer my work speak for itself (that way I don't have to speak for it). Which means I probably should have written some directions about the clickies on the NPC form; ah, well, I'll add that to the TODO list.
bibliophile20
Ah. Fair enough; based off of the comment, I'm guessing it's RL related.

And your work does speak for itself, and very nicely at that.
Dizzman
I ran the first part of Born to Die with some modifications this weekend. I ran into one debugging problem on the first scene. The mage astrally projected to the battlefield site as soon as the fixer gave the address. He caught DD as they were leaving and they jumped them on a side street.

Also, it was a pain in the but to get them all together in the same restaurant at the same time! I had to have another fixer call them for a meet at the restaurant with a Johnson to do some bug hunting and then they got the call from their regular fixer.
Aaron
QUOTE (Dizzman)
I ran the first part of Born to Die with some modifications this weekend. I ran into one debugging problem on the first scene. The mage astrally projected to the battlefield site as soon as the fixer gave the address. He caught DD as they were leaving and they jumped them on a side street.

Good catch. I'll add something about timing in the Debugging section of that scene.

QUOTE (Dizzman)
Also, it was a pain in the but to get them all together in the same restaurant at the same time!  I had to have another fixer call them for a meet at the restaurant with a Johnson to do some bug hunting and then they got the call from their regular fixer.

Yeah, I can see that as being tricky. If I was the GM, I'd just say that they were together at the tavern (or whatever other hang out they might like) and if necessary ask what they did before they got there; it's a kind of ret-con, except that one starts with an end point and then flashes back to get there.
Dizzman
Aaron - The adventure is very good, thanks again for posting it. This is only the second game for the team, so that was part of the reason it was difficult to get them in the same spot. They didn't know each other very well.

I was thinking, hindsight being 2020, that one good way to debug the astral mage, is to have Mr. D meet them in astral as he is "checking up" on his crew. The one unfortunate thing about them jumping the clean-up crew, is that they never got to meet Mr. D., the best character in the module.
Aaron
QUOTE (Dizzman)
I was thinking, hindsight being 2020, that one good way to debug the astral mage, is to have Mr. D meet them in astral as he is "checking up" on his crew.  The one unfortunate thing about them jumping the clean-up crew, is that they never got to meet Mr. D., the best character in the module.

One thing that's variable is the location of the DD site, at least until the players are told where it is. This allows the truck to arrive at the site when the players catch up to it. I plan to add text to that effect.

I've always thought that there's no reason a GM can't use NPCs she or he likes in future games (check out the notes from our campaign for examples). If you like Mr. D., write him into another adventure. Maybe he'll pop around to meet the people who hijacked his truck. Perhaps the team will have another reason in a future adventure to investigate Discrete Disposal and meet the boss and his guests.
Vic Faustus
I wanted to thank you for sharing these adventures with us. Ever since reading Born to Die a week ago, I've been dying to run it. My PCs, after a nice series of perfect missions, managed to really tick off a corporate johnson a few weeks back and the corporate jobs dried up. They still get underworld jobs but they don't pay as well. So I figured it was a good time to have them do a successful run for a corporate johnson, in a situation where beggars can't be choosers and no one can afford to say no.

However, with 24 hours prior to game time 5 out of my 6 players canceled. Yikes! I considered pushing it off but was too eager to run it and the remaining player too eager to play, and I decided that given the introduction and the fact that the PCs rarely hang out together between runs it would make perfect sense if their fixer couldn't reach them all. I made a couple of changes, so I'm going to explain how it all went down. Don't mind my rambling but it was a great game and I am still wired thinking about it.

So I had Mariko (Their usual fixer) call the PC (Samantha the street sammie) with the offer to help out another team, bitching how no one else picks up their comm. En route to the travel agent on her racing bike Mariko called again to say she found two runners from other teams available who would meet Sam there, and provided names and descriptions.

Scene one went smoothly. No haggling on money and the player seemed to enjoy the two NPC runners. Tor is an ork street sammy, uses axe and shotguns, and smells really bad. He pulls up on a Harley that can be heard blocks away. Stealth is right out with this guy, but hey, it's supposed to be a firefight, and he's well equipped for that. Hash is an elvish hacker with a hold-out pistol who pulls up on a little scooter and spends the whole first scene complaining that Mariko must have been desperate and far down her list to call a code-cracker to a firefight. He showed up never intending to fight if the odds were bad but figured he could jump in at the end for easy cash if he sees his side is winning. He doesn't come out and say that, but it's clear he's really a coward. Sam shows up first to the quiet street and as each NPC shows up I play up the look of confusion on their faces as they ask her "So, um, where is everybody?"

Scene Two went great. The PC, while decent at combat, spent most of the cyberware budget on every eye and earware enhancement available. She easily spots everything in the list, and a lucky roll for smell perception reveals the cleaning solution and faint sent of blood. She agrees to take over for the other team with no haggling and of course the NPCs agree as well.

Chapter Three is my biggest change. The mage from Ice's Irregulars (I renamed him Potter) isn't dead. He got stunned from the pain to his meat body but Ice distracted his assailant before the job was done. The cleanup crew thought he was dead because his body was bloody and limp and took him away. He knows it was a truck heading up the interstate that has their bodies. He shows up as the PC is looking through dossiers of Ice's team that Mariko sent him and gets to his picture. A voice over her shoulder says "Yup, that's me! Where were you!" He starts off incredible angry, then tries to return to his body to find their destination, but can no longer find his body. He starts getting scared and offers a reward if they rescue him. He fills them in and I flesh out the story here that Mr. And Mrs. Johnson were returning from vacation and he was taking a connecting flight from SeaTac to go orbital for business while a car from the travel agency picked her up. She never reached their home, and he didn't know anything was wrong until he was at his destination. The travel agency became an immediate suspect. He knows she is pregnant and magically active.

At this point the PC tries to figure out how they are going to find this truck, so + have him make a Logic roll and he rolls all sixes! I reminded him that earlier in the game when he neared the street I had him roll visual perception but didn't saw why. It was to notice the truck leaving and Logic was both to remember it and put two and two together. So the PC himself was the source of the puritan logo information, which was cool. A legwork rolls gets them just enough successes for a name and address, and they race off. As they leave Potter's form starts kicking its leg, as if he was trying to shake off a bug.

When they get near to discrete disposal and slow to check it out Potter manifests again. He is looking haggard and desperate. On the verge of sobbing he whimpers that he can feel himself getting bitten and torn up. The bottom of his astral form is fading. He starts making dying requests but Sam tells him to shut up and she won't let him die, and for the first time I consider letting him live if they can play this right. Sam uses her thermographic vision and bionic ear at the garage doors to determine which one has the truck with the still warm engine and workers inside and Hash hacks in and opens the garage door. Sam goes in with guns ready as the workers who didn't notice over the sound of a metal compactor finish dumping things from the back of the truck into chutes marked "Biological", "Recycling", and "Hazardous". "All done with this load," one says as Sam approaches from behind with a gun drawn. Before she can make her move, Mr. D silently appears from the shadows to her left. I make sure the player knows that Sam's enhanced hearing picked up absolutely nothing.

Now, I must interject by adding that Mr. D may be one of my favorite NPCs of all time, and my player said the same thing. I played up his excitement at having a customer visit him, and his unnervingly genuine smile and eagerness to please. I also make him a bit naïve while making sure the player got the correct impression that he shouldn't be messed with. He offers to show them a tour, and provide a list of services and prices, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the PCs are armed and have snuck in to the facility. When Sam explains that she is looking for a person they took, he doesn't understand. He explains that they only take waste. She finally says bodies and he says that is in the biological waste. He is eager to answer all questions honestly but has a skewed view of reality. When she first says he has a live body down with the biological waste he answers "Oh no, that's just the ghouls" as if it explained everything. That of course makes her rush and she finally gets her meaning across that his men took a live body and thought it was biological waste. He is very upset by this, not because a person is being eaten alive below but because they breached the contract and "oh, think of the liability". She suggests sending his men down to get the body but he explains that would be even worse liability. He asks if they'd be kind enough to rectify this mistake, and he will need to have an office meeting to remind his men of procedure. He vanishes to find his employees. Potter reveals he is a dangerous spirit, which of course they already figured out.

Sam gets two employees at gunpoint to lead them to the biological waste dump and on her way down puts on a hazmat suit when she sees one. Hash stays at the open door with the employees at gunpoint when Mr. D comes back and says he asked the crew for volunteers to help the PCs, but everyone said no. He acts surprised at this. He doesn't seem to notice Hash has a gun trained on his two employees (they sure do!) and goes on more about how nice it is to meet new people. Meanwhile, Sam is relying on Thermagraphic vision and enhanced hearing to get her baring. As one charges her a ridiculously successful edge roll puts a bullet through his head and discourages a second from attacking. Tor lags behind to chop at one with his axe. Potter gives Hash his comm number and has calls it. Sam hears the vibration from the ringing comm and it leads her to his body. He is badly torn up and his left legs is nothing but bone. He is fading fast. She defaults first aid to tie off the leg and aces the roll with a 5 and 6! Knowing she is in a rush she edges the perception check to find the dead decker and rolls incredibly high, finding her in only three rounds, even with vision penalties. Tor and Sam bring the bodies up shooting some ghouls that get too close and escape the pit. I purposely toned down the ghoul attacks due to the lack of runners in this section.

When they bring Potter's body up he starts freaking out but then resigns himself to his fate. "This is going to hurt," he says, and jumps in his body and screams from the pain. He croaks out a “thanks for trying� but Sam isn't ready to give up. She convinces Mr. D to intervene to prevent more liability and promise her silence about the mistake his employees made. Mr. D heals Potter, but as his torso heals and mends his leg disintegrates. Mr. D explains matter-of-factly "Like turns to like. Most of the body was whole enough to return to health, but the leg could only return to dust." as if that explained everything. Mr. D gives Sam his card and indicates that he is pleased to have met her and appreciates their discretion over the unfortunate oversight.

They take Potter and the dead decker across the street where they call docwagon with Potter's account. When the wagon comes he pays for a ghoul vaccine for Tor (he was bitten but Sam never was). Meanwhile the living decker has retrieved the data from the dead decker who is also passed to docwagon once they confirm she had a contract with them, so docwagon can carry out whatever wishes she had on file with them in the event of her passing.

On to the school!


Now, for the past week I was a bit confused about the elf girl's role in the story. Sure, it was a chance to inspire some roleplaying, and maybe some shock value, but I really didn't see the threat in a character with a Body 1 and no armor. However, I found myself with 20 minutes to kill before my player showed up, and having already read the adventure several times, I decided to look up all of the kids' abilities to make sure I didn't miss anything. It was upon re-reading the rules for manipulation magic that I started to see the possibilities, and when I read the description for Decrease Attribute, a spell I had always overlooked, her true power was revealed. She is easily capable of wiping out an entire party all by herself, especially my usual group of min-maxers with their 1 or 2 Charisma. I played her smart, and she became the most dangerous foe in the game.

Sam, Tor, and Hash get a feeling of dread when they step on the school grounds. It quickly turns to mistrust. When Sam asks Tor to take the lead he refuses, saying "You first," with a wave of his shotgun. They enter and halfway down a hallway Sam's enhanced hearing (four successes!) picks up the beeping of equipment around the corner to the right and a muffled noise from a classroom to the left. Entering the classroom Sam's high perception lets her see the girl cowering below the desk crying. Tor and Hash are obnoxious but Sam is gentle and gets the girl to admit she is looking for her mommy and saw the men bring her here. When asked why she is hiding she says she couldn't help it, it got too scary. "Then you feel it too," Sam says, totally suckered. Sam makes her stay put despite her protests while she moves on to what she correctly guessed was the sound of the medical equipment mentioned in the purchase order (nice handout by the way!).

They enter the lab and I play up the smell and conditions. They locate Mrs. Johnson and Hash uses his skills to disconnect her from the IV and monitors. Then it all hits the fan. Sam suddenly can't move, can't react, feels cut off from reality. Tor puts his shotgun to the back of Hash's head and blows it off, then, slowly, fighting it by the anguish evident in his face, turns it towards Sam. Hash's body falls across Mrs. Johnson, then rolls to the ground. And this is where Sam saves her own hoop. The
previous hold on her gone, she must defend against 9 dice (-2 for the spell sustained on Tor) with her measly 2 Willpower. She had spent 3 of her 4 edge already, and so just rolled the two dice. Sam got one success, the elf girl got none! Talk about luck! It wasn't a glitch, but it played out fine. I would have let the player burn a point of Edge permanently for the same effect if it failed but it's great that it wasn't needed. Sam makes a called shot to Tor's hand and blows the shotgun out of it despite the penalties. "Very good" she hears from behind her. "My brother will finish him. Now put the pistol in your mouth and pull the trigger." A close roll between Sam's Con and the girl's Intuition means the girl realizes the truth too late. "Oh crap," she says, as she realizes Sam is not being controlled. She tries to spin around behind a woman on a gurney but Sam spends her last Edge to put two deadly rounds in her.

That's about when the boy hits Tor. He almost rips Tor in half but with the spellcaster gone only gets one free attack before the spell wears off and Tor can defend himself. What follows is a bloody mess of a combat with Sam firing into melee and Tor trying to parry four attacks a round Tor falls and Sam switches to her cyberblades. She and the kid thrust and parry for many attacks, each nicking and cutting the other, until the same
round each lands a telling blow. With each at 4 Health left it looks bad for Sam, who has accrued major wound modifiers while the kid does not. Finally, I lent a hand. Lightning arcs into the kid's back, not doing much damage but stunning him. "Die you little bastard," Mrs. Johnson says before collapsing back on the bed, exhausted. Sam takes advantage of the opening to draw and aim her gun. "What she said." And blows a hole in his head.

Sam takes the Comms and Credsticks from the dead runners (She's not stupid, there's plenty of incriminating data there) and leaves with Mrs. Johnson in Sam's longcoat. On her way out she places a call to Discreet Disposal where a secretary assures her that Mr. D is eager to please and will even waive the fee this time. As instructed DD comes and clears all traces of the runners without touching anything or anyone else. As they leave Lone Star is called anonymously to pick up the rest of the women. Sam brings
Mrs. J back to one of her own safehouses to shower, rest, eat, and change. They make the meet and Mr. Johnson is thrilled and promises more work for his new favorite runner.

Sam gains Mr. Johnson, Potter, and Mr. D as new contacts. I awarded a boatload of karma for a mission played pretty much perfectly, and a truckload of money. A very happy player and character indeed.
I had a blast running this game. The characters are great, the plot is great, and pacing is spot on. The tension is really easy to convey and the atmosphere fit perfectly, with a nice mix of atypical locations. Thanks again for sharing!
Aaron
QUOTE (Vic Faustus)
I had a blast running this game. [...] Thanks again for sharing!

Thank you very much for sharing your session. I was extremely entertained by it, and I hope those players who missed it are as sorry as I am for not having been there to see it.
Large Mike

Speaking of Convention Runs, I still have my copy of the Disneyland Run from GenCon SoCal 2003. I should find that, figure out who wrote it, and convince them to let me put it here.
bibliophile20
QUOTE (Aaron)
QUOTE (bibliophile20)
More than fair enough.  May I ask what the "big project" is, or is that classified?  ^_^

It's not classified per se, but I don't think it would be professional to talk about it on DS. Also, if you do end up reading it, I prefer my work speak for itself (that way I don't have to speak for it). Which means I probably should have written some directions about the clickies on the NPC form; ah, well, I'll add that to the TODO list.

I'm guessing that the "big project" is the Patient Zero SR Mission; looking it over now. I have high expectations (that I fully expect to be fulfilled) smile.gif
bibliophile20
Just finished a little while ago; me likey. biggrin.gif
the_dunner
QUOTE (bibliophile20)
I'm guessing that the "big project" is the Patient Zero SR Mission; looking it over now. I have high expectations (that I fully expect to be fulfilled) smile.gif

While Aaron did a fantastic job on Patient Zero, the Missions team does like to work a little further ahead than that. He posted about his big project in late June. SRM02-17 went out to Commandos and Conventions back in late May. wink.gif
bibliophile20
Ah. Well, I guess we'll find out what said "big project" is eventually; if it's Shadowrun related, I have high expectations.
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